Posted on July 15, 2014 by Bro Hiltibidal
“The Border of Wickedness” and the Edomites
Is what we are seeing in Israel, in its conflict with Gaza and soon other Terrorist nations that border them, the Word of the Lord against Esau/Edomites mentioned in Malachi, Chapter One?
Mal 1:1-5, “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.”
Verse Four in particular is very descriptive of the Edomites or modern day Palestinians. “Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.”
It would appear that God has a perpetual judgment against them for their great sin against Israel. When the Chaldeans were taking Judah captive, they aided them and caused great harm to the Jews, and God removed them from their land that was in the area called Idumea. Isa 34:5, “For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.” Idumea was the area from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea, and the land God gave to Esau for his inheritance from Abraham was in this area.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary has this comment about this verse: “When Judah was captive in Babylon, Edom, in every way, insulted over her fallen mistress, killed many of those Jews whom the Chaldeans had left, and hence was held guilty of fratricide by God (Esau, their ancestor, having been brother to Jacob). This was the cause of the denunciations of the prophets against Edom (Isa 63:1; Jer 49:7; Eze 25:12-14; 35:3-15; Joe 3:19; Am 1:11,12; Ob 1:21,21,21; Mal 1:3,4:3,4|). Nebuchadnezzar humbled Idumea accordingly (Jer 25:15-21).
The phrase in Malachi, Verse Four, “They shall build, but I will throw down,” is interesting. No matter how much they try or the rest of the world helps them, everything the Palestinians build up God will in turn tear down. The arrogance of those that oppose God, God will oppose. This applies not only to the Edomites but to all nations, as well as the individuals who oppose God. The Lord stands ready to receive and hold all who will come to Him but to those that oppose Him the same will they receive from Him–judgment where blessings could have been enjoyed.
You might ask why God would tear down all the Edomites build up, and the answer is simple. God calls them “The border of wickedness.” Mathew Henry’s commentary has this comment: “border of wickedness, a sinful nation, incurably so, and therefore the people against whom the Lord has indignation for ever. Since their wickedness is such as will never be reformed, their desolations shall be such as are never to be repaired. Against Israel God was a little displeased (Zec 1:15), but against Edom he has indignation, and will have for ever, for they are the people of His curse (Isa 34:5).”
Will this present conflict bring about the battle prophesied in Psalms 83? Is the rise of the Medes (modern day Kurds), as prophesied in Isaiah 13:17, what we are seeing with the Kurds in controlling a large swath of land between where the ISIS forces have taken control in Iraq and into Iranian territory? Check out Jeremiah 51:11, 28-29 also concerning the rise of the Medes and Babylon/Iraq.
There are too many prophesied events taking place at the same time for this not to be the ending of the days before the tribulation that is surely coming.
You can almost hear the trumpeter about ready to sound out our call to leave!